


I have immortal longings in me.

by bispaceprincess



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Dirty Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Historical References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-24 09:04:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4913419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bispaceprincess/pseuds/bispaceprincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke's putting 10 years of dance class to use in a slightly unconventional way, she has to pay med school tuition somehow. When she meets one Bellamy Blake at work she knows she probably shouldn't treat him like anything but a customer, but she can't seem to help herself. </p>
<p>Aka the one where Clarke is a stripper and Bellamy is her client.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I have immortal longings in me.

**Author's Note:**

> From a prompt sent to me on tumblr: okay so a bellarke prompt that i just thought of so, Pre-Med student Clarke being a party stripper/dancer to pay her off student loans and getting hired for Bellamy's 21st. The two strangers never thought they'd meet again until they run into each other in class or on campus and yeah, you fill in the rest.
> 
> I ended up changing it up a little bit, but the idea is the same.

As the last bars of ‘Pyramids’ faded out Clarke swayed her hips a few more times for good measure before dipping down to collect the money around her feet and her discarded bra and garter belt. She loved dancing to songs like this; the slow beat and Frank Ocean’s baritone made her feel languorous and sensual. She enjoyed doing the faster tempo songs too, don’t get her wrong, they pumped her up and the moves required by them were a good workout, but songs like this actually left her feeling more out of breath. Her limbs could still feel the pulsing of the beat, how it had taken over her body as she undulated and stretched her body along the stage, enjoying the feeling of eyes on her, completely rapt by her performance. This was probably not how her mother had thought she would use 10 years of modern dance lessons, but hey.

 

She stumbled slightly as she came in off the stage and leaned against the wall as she finished refastening her bra. You’d think after months of working here she would know by now that multitasking after she finished a set while wearing these heels was always a recipe for disaster, but they always did seem to get her the biggest amounts of tips.

She pushed herself back off the wall and dipped her chest to get her breasts to fall into the cups correctly before making her way to the dressing rooms where the rest of the girls on their breaks were. She had just made it past Harper with a quick nod and collapsed into one of the chairs when Anya, the floor manager, peeked her head in and said, “Clarke, you’ve got a request at table 8.”

She heaved out a sigh then pulled herself back up reluctantly. She knows she shouldn’t be irritated, more dances means more money, means more of her ridiculous student loans paid off. But she did wish she had more than a minute to relax before she went back out. With a quick check in the mirror to make sure the exorbitant price she had paid for her makeup setting spray was worth it (and it was, her blood red lips were still perfectly lined and her cat eye was as sharp as her heels). She did a quick swipe with some blotting paper to take away the sheen of sweat she had worked up during her dance and made sure that her thigh-high stockings were securely fastened to her garter belt before she went back out of the room.

 

She looked over at the table before approaching it, trying to figure out what approach she would need. It was a group of five guys, probably in their mid to late twenties, wearing suits. Usually that meant cocky businessmen who had too much money, and not enough responsibilities or sense, who would try and push the envelope and break the rules. Luckily she worked at one of the best clubs in town, which came with an eagle-eyed security team, so they usually couldn’t cause too much trouble before Lincoln showed up and glared them down or out. She considered them for a moment more before she decided that they didn’t seem like they fit in that category, especially the one. His skin was golden, even in the darkness of the club and his inky hair was long and mussed in a way that belied a more casual work atmosphere than most stock-broking firms allowed. She could just make out the hint of ink stains on his hands and his shoulders and arms looked like they were just a bit too big for his jacket, like it had been a while since he’d worn it. In a word he was hot, and if Clarke had seen him at any other bar she would’ve gone up and spoke to him, maybe taken him back to her place, but tonight she had to work. She gave her head a quick shake to get rid of the thoughts about what she would’ve done to him if the situation had been different and took a deep fortifying breath before striding confidently towards the table.

 

“Hi,” she said in her low raspy voice, damn she should have got a glass of water before coming out. “I heard you guys wanted to see me.”

Unfortunately it wasn’t the one that intrigued her that spoke up. The man who spoke had large almost buggy eyes and a sharp looking mouth that was tilted in a smirk like this was all a big joke only he was in on.

He gave her a leering look up and down before saying, “Yeah! Hi Blondie, my man Bellamy here was drooling all throughout your set, so I thought I’d be an amazing friend and avail ourselves of the opportunity to request your company.” He gestured towards an open spot on the couch beside the messy haired man, Bellamy she reminded herself, who was looking anywhere but her. She could make out the hint of a blush on his cheeks, which usually made her laugh, but was sort of charming on him against the dusting of freckles she could now make out up close. She went and sat down beside him, close enough that her knees brushed against his, sending a thrill down her spine. After a moment he looked up and gave her a shy smile, which she returned before asking, “So, you guys here for any particular occasion?”

“We’re celebrating,” said one of the other men sitting on the couch across from her. He had dark skin, a close-cropped beard and warm looking eyes. His arm was draped across the back of the couch behind a slim Korean man whose hair grazed across his forehead in an elegant swoop. He continued gesturing at Bellamy again, “He just defended his PhD and the rest of us are celebrating the fact that we weren’t stupid enough to decide to get PhD’s.”

“Ah, very smart,” she replied with a smile. “So, I know he’s Bellamy, but who are the rest of you.”

They went around the circle giving their names. The weasley looking one who had leered at her when she first arrived was Murphy; beside him was a dark skinned man who looked like he erred on the strong and silent who mumbled that he was Mbege. The bearded man told her his name was Miller and his partner was named Monty before asking her name.

“My name is Cleo,” she said. She was surprised when she heard Murphy mumble ‘ohmygod’ and jab his elbow into Mbege’s ribs while looking at him with wild eyes. They were allowed to pick their stage names, and she chosen this one, she just didn’t think she would be able to keep a straight face if someone called her Misty or something like that. It did not usually elicit this reaction.

The confusion must have shown on her face because Bellamy finally found his voice and spoke up, “Wouldn’t Terpsichore have been more appropriate?”

“That’s what I tried to tell my manager, but I had a two syllable limit,” she replied with a wink. “So, I take it you like Greek mythology.”

Before he could answer, Murphy snorted loudly from across the table before saying, “That is the understatement of the century.”

She looked back over at Bellamy who was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “I just got my PhD in Classics.”

“Well now I know I chose the right name, maybe I’ll get to be your muse,” She replied with a wink and was gratified when the flush returned to his cheeks.  

 

As the last bars of the song finished she turned towards Bellamy and asked if he would like a dance and tried to keep her smile in check when he nodded quickly. Murphy interjected that it was on him. She stood up, led him over to one of the private rooms and closed the curtains halfway to give them some privacy. It wasn’t far from their original table, but it wasn’t in plain sight. She smiled when she heard the first beats of the new song start. _Perfect._

> _So you say you wanna get away_
> 
> _We don't need a plane_

Catching his eyes with hers, she grazed her hands up along her body before bringing them behind her and arching her back as she undid her lacy black bra. She dropped it beside him and appreciated his widened eyes as he took in the sight of her unbound breasts for the first time. She knew they were one of her best features and had been told so many times, still the little gulp he took sent a shiver down her spine. She palmed her breast with one hand while the other slid back down her body and dipped between her legs for just a second. She looked up at him from beneath her thick lashes and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

She straddled his lap, caging him between her thighs as she ground to the music. She brought her hand up to caress the side of his neck, which caused his eyes to flutter shut for a moment. Smiling she decided to double down, she brought her lips to the juncture of his shoulder and neck and breathed a trail up to his pulse point, just barely grazing the skin. Gratified when she saw his jaw tense she moved up to his ear and whispered along with the song ‘ _I could be your fantasy, underneath the palm trees, you could leave your worries, listen to the waves, sure you wanna get so high? breath me in like air tonight._ ’ When she drew back she noted his blown pupils and plump lips with pleasure.

She stood up and turned around, her hips keeping time with the music before she lowered herself back into his lap. She threw her arm back and she knew she was playing with fire but gave into her desire to tangle her fingers into his unruly hair. She could feel his heartbeat racing against her arm as she ground against the impressively large bulge in his pants. His breath was coming in soft pants, rustling the hair at her nape. She felt his shoulder tense behind her and looked down to see his hand clenching against his leg, as if he was trying to keep himself from touching her. She wasn’t technically supposed to, but something about him made her feel a little out of control so she reached down and picked up his hand, placing it at the curve of her waist.

“Is that okay?” she asked.

He barely managed to stutter out a yes.

She caught Lincoln eyes from across the room and he raised his eyebrows questioningly. She gave him a smile and a wink to let him know it was all right before turning her attention back to Bellamy. She stood up once more, so that her ass was just at his eye level before she looked over his shoulder, raised her eyebrow challengingly and gave herself a smack, just enough to leave a light red handprint and make it jiggle appealingly.

She turned around again, straddling only one of his thighs, while drawing her hand lightly up the other. Again, she wasn’t supposed to do this, but she couldn’t resist grazing her nails against now fully hard cock and when it twitched under her ministrations, fully cupping it as she dropped her mouth back to his neck. Then she slid up and pressed her center, which had grown increasingly damp over the course of the dance, against his thigh and grazing her nipples against his full lips. She felt his breath puff out, but the heat just made them pebble harder.

“Bellamy, do you-“ She started before she was interrupted.

 

Now here’s something most people don’t know about strip clubs. It might seem like you can whisper about someone across the table or even the room without them hearing you, but you couldn’t be more wrong. It was probably for the best, she was getting way too into this dance and had almost invited him back to her place before they were interrupted.

“How much you wanna bet her tits are fake?” she heard Murphy say to Mbege in a whisper that wasn’t as inconspicuous as he probably wanted it to be.

“God, do you always have to be so crude?” admonished Miller to Clarke’s pleasure.

“Whatever man, you’re in straight land now, this is what happens,” retorted Murphy.

“Probably fake” Mbege added gruffly.

Then Monty joined the conversation. “They’re real, but you shouldn’t be talking about her like she’s not here.”

“She’s across the room and probably can’t hear us over the music, besides how the fuck would you know? This is probably your first time ever seeing them,” Murphy taunted.

“Maybe so, but who’s the scientist here? That tissue resonance? No way it’s silicone.”

Clarke knew the song was almost over so she decided to enter the conversation before it got more out of hand. “They’re real.”

It was worth it to see Murphy sputter on his drink and to see Mbege looking like a kid who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Told you,” Monty said smugly, before turning to Clarke and adding, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” She said with a laugh as she located her bra and put it back on and walked back over to the table. “Honestly. My breasts are full of love and life, not silicone.”

She could feel Bellamy come up behind her before he said, “Her hips are round and well apart. Such women, they say, have sons.”

“Dude, ” Murphy scolded, apparently now finding a sense of chivalry. “You can’t just say that-”

“No,” Clarke interrupted. “He’s quoting Cleopatra, it’s fine.”

“Oh no, you know Greek and Egyptian history. You should probably leave before Bellamy asks you to marry him.”

She bit back a retort about how she might say yes just because of how hilarious it would be to tell her mother she had married a doctor, and then get to reveal that not only was it the wrong kind but that they had met while she was in her underwear. But talking about disapproving mothers kind of always killed the mood. Better to keep the illusion that she had sprung into being as a stripper, like a slightly more naked Athena.

So instead she just smiled and chuckled as she watched his cheeks darken again.

The music level rose as Harper took the stage behind her, and the rest of the group turned their attention to her, leaving Clarke and Bellamy alone with one another. He gave her an embarrassed smile and said, “Sorry about them. I would say they’re not usually like this, but that would be a lie.”

“That’s okay,” She reassured him, placing her hand on his knee and moving in close, she couldn’t help herself. “This is nothing compared to what my friends would do. Believe me.”

Maybe she had been wrong about not talking about anything personal, because his eyes seemed to soften at that and she had to stop herself from leaning in to capture his lips with hers. Instead she said, “Tell me about your thesis?”   
  


They sat like that for the next two hours, talking about everything under the sun. She ignored the pointed looks from Lincoln and Anya both, as she wasted away her shift by his side, not making anything. It was fine, she had done good business before he came, and having one off night wasn’t the end of the world. His friends had wandered off after half an hour. Murphy and Mbege to avail themselves of Harpers and Romas services. Miller and Monty home.

She had lost track of time so when Anya’s voice came over the speaker announcing that this was last call, she was startled.

“Oh wow, I had no idea it was this late,” he remarked embarrassedly.   
“You and me both.”

“I guess I should let you go, huh? You probably have to get going?”

“All your friends are gone, how did you get here?”

“I don’t live far from here actually, just 10 blocks. I’m just going to walk.”  
“Oh, me too.”

“You walk home? At this time?”

“It’s not far, just across the park really. I have an app.”

“I could walk you home, if you want?”

“Oh, uh, sure. Just let me go in the back and get changed?”

He nodded and she headed to the back to change out of her lingerie, for something a little more appropriate for the September evening.

 

When she came back out wearing a pair of jeans and a heavy cable knit sweater she couldn’t help but return the dazzling smile he sent her. They walked side by side in a comfortable silence, close enough that their fingers brushed against one another's, which sent butterflies fluttering through her stomach

When they reached her apartment she spun around to face him.

“Two hours until dawn,” she said with a soft smile.

He returned it easily and asked, “And what happens at dawn?”

“I thought you knew,” She replied with a smirk, “The sun comes up.”

Then, even though she had only met him 4 hours ago, she did something that felt like it had been a long time coming. She surged onto her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck and press her lips to his.

He hesitated for a moment before parting his lips and gathering her up with his arms with a soft moan. She could taste the warm vanilla of the bourbon he had been drinking before, and that combined with the softness of his lips caused her to return his moan with on of her own. He pulled away first with a shuddering breath and leaned his forehead against hers as they caught their breaths. They stayed like that for a moment, she could feel the thrum of his heartbeat, racing below her fingers that had found their way to his neck during the kiss.

“Cleo,” He breathed out.

“Actually it’s Clarke, sorry.”

He pulled back slightly, with a small grin. “Right, should’ve guessed that wasn’t your real name.”

“Do you want to come up?” She asked, feeling nervous despite herself.

“I thought you would never ask”

 

* * *

 

Clarke sat outside the ivy-covered building soaking in the mid afternoon rays with a soft smile on her face. She had a policy to spend as much time outdoors as she could before it turned cold. For some reason all med school classes were in the basement, as if they didn’t know about the dangers of vitamin D deficiency.   
His face popped into her mind again, against her will, much like it did all the time now and she let out a groan of frustration.

She had woken up the next morning feeling deliciously sore, and then turned to face him to find the bed empty. She had padded out into her living room, then kitchen, but he was nowhere to be found. Usually she was okay with one night stands, hell they were a lot of fun, but she had thought this was something more. Apparently she was wrong, because he hadn’t even left his number. Serves her right for going home with someone from work, the other girls had warned her about this very situation. She had scoffed when they warned her, thinking she would never want to do that, but she hadn't been counting on someone like Bellamy. 

She forcefully pushed the memory of him, his face and otherwise out of her mind and turned her thoughts to her upcoming assignments. She was listing her to do list in her head, trying not to be dismayed by its length, when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“It was so great meeting with you in person after all this time. The campus is even better than you described. I can’t wait to start.”

It was Bellamy.

She dropped her head rapidly, burying it in her textbook, trying to avoid him spotting her.

Of course in her past life she must have been a mass killer, because a moment later she heard him say, “Clarke?”

_Fuck_.

She looked up, ready to tell him off for ditching her and then not even having the courtesy to walk past silently, but then she decided that she wasn’t going to let him know that he had hurt her feelings, being rejected was bad enough without being pitied as well.

“Bellamy?” She replied in a fake surprised tone.

“What are you doing here?”

“I go to school here. As fun as stripping is, it’s not really my life goal.”

“Right, yeah of course. God, I’m sorry.”

He looked so contrite that she smiled in spite of herself. “And yourself?”

He looked down and rubbed the back of his neck as he replied. “Uh, I’m starting a new position here. Adjunct professor.”

“I’ve heard good things about the history department,” She offered.

“Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

She started to say “Don’t let me keep you,” at the same time as he blurted out “Why didn’t you call?”

She couldn’t keep her surprise off her face, but she shook it away quickly and answered, “Because you didn’t leave your number?”

Now it was his turn to look surprised. “Uh, yeah I did. I left it on the kitchen counter… but I am beginning to suspect that it got lost somehow?”

Happiness bubbled up in her chest, she had been assuming the worst for a month. There was just one more matter to clear up. “Why did you leave so early?”

“I had an interview, for this job actually. I told you when I was leaving but you must not have been actually awake.”

A smile blossomed on her face as she pieced together the misunderstanding.

“How about we start over,” He suggested and thrust his hand out towards her. “Hi, I’m Bellamy. Would you like to go out sometime?”

“You sure you’re allowed to ask out students, Professor?” She asked with a quirked brow.

His eyes widened. “Shit, probably not. Fuck.”

She couldn’t let him freak out for too long and took his extended hand in hers, “I’m just kidding. I’m a Med student. I’m pretty sure that’s far enough away from the history department. I’d love to, but only because you came before me like a suppliant”

He caught her reference and replied with a smirk, “If you choose to regard me as such.”

“I do.”

“Well then if memory serves right I will therefore assume the position of a suppliant.”

“One might even say I demand it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on [tumblr](http://klokkombikru.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Let me know what you thought!


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